Pope Francis will on Thursday mark the 12th anniversary of his election as leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics, but he will do so from Rome's Gemelli hospital where he has been treated for double pneumonia for almost a month.
The latest bulletins from the Vatican on the 88-year-old pope's condition have said he is improving and is no longer in immediate danger.
They have not said when he will be discharged from hospital.